Roland GAIA SH 01 Synthesizer Intro Video

This video, via griffinavid, takes a look at the Roland GAIA SH 01 Synthesizer.

The Roland GAIA SH-01 synth is a 37-key compact synthesizer that’s designed to combine the designe of vintage Roland synthesizers with the latest in Roland’s analog-modeling technology. The GAIA SH-01 is able to create rich sound with three virtual-analog sound engines, each with a dedicated oscillator, filter, amplifier, envelope, and LFO. With 64 polyphonic voices onboard, GAIA makes it possible to play massive sounds without experiencing note drop-out.

Roland GAIA SH 01 Synthesizer Intro Video Pt 2

Roland GAIA SH 01 Synthesizer Intro Video Pt 3

14 thoughts on “Roland GAIA SH 01 Synthesizer Intro Video”

  1. The advertising text is misleading… 64 polyphonic voices is not 64 note polyphony. For an entry-level product, this seems kind of douchy.

    Also, this might be fun, and might even sound good… But by today’s standards, it is underwhelming… Especially when for that price, there are better options. Sheeeeeeet…. For less than that, you could get a used virus B, a novation nova, even a real analog…

    Roland has really let themselves go…

  2. its a piece of shit. that guy must drink himself to sleep at night, having to explain ASDR to 21 year old hipster kids, in an attempt to move these units.

    unbelievable. also… am i alone in thinking that roland synths and workstations, and even groove boxes, have gotten uglier over the past decade?

  3. In the end it's only about the music you make with it that counts. You can make horrible music with expensive equipment and beautiful music with cheap stuff. And even then it's just a matter of taste.
    I wonder what percentage of all these comments are actually inspired by competition in the music industry, i.e. different companies trying to devaluate each others products.

  4. I still think the GAIA has a nice layout compared to other low-end VAs – everything is easy access via dedicated controls that are well organized and laid out in a way that will make sense even to newcomers. Yes it's basic, but we were all newbies at one time. Still remember your first synth? I used some things that were simple but fun and inspiring. This will be that for many people. It's a gateway machine or something to play around on.

    I agree about the polyphony. As I understand it they're counting each oscillator separately. Who does that?! Everytime I see the polyphony quoted it angers me because I feel like Roland are misleading people who may not know better if this is their first synth.

    I still think it looks fun and because of its interface is a bit unique especially at the cheaper end of the hardware market, but I also still think it is $150 overpriced and although I was thinking about picking one up for a while I would not pay $700 for this. No way.

  5. I doubt this is the competition talking. We're all synth enthusiasts and the GAIA is… a low-end VA priced slightly above most of the other offerings in its category. Roland's pitch is easy but serious power. Some people will quibble with that. The audio quality seems "reasonable".

    I think it would make a good first synth for someone. Straightforward to make some nice familiar sounds, easy to experiment with. It's certainly more friendly than competing menu-driven devices in that regard.

  7. The only way I would consider buy this plastic box is if it was analog driven. $700 for a DSP is stupid when I could buy a Mopho for the same price.

  8. It's not the sort of thing for me, but then again, neither was the MicroKorg, and that thing sells like God knows what. At least with something like this, kids who are just getting into using synths, who would typically go for something like a MicroKorg will actually be getting something which is actually conducive to creativity rather than Korg's reassignable 4-knob nonsense.

    Maybe if this thing takes off, we won't hear so many goddamn Microkorg presets from whoever the new Killers or Enter Shikari may be 😛

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